Made by survivors, these 100% natural soaps are handcrafted by women in the red-light district of Bangladesh. These women have made a clean break from their previous lifestyle and have chosen soap making as an alternative source of income. Sacred Mark Enterprise allows these women to provide for themselves in a way which brings pride and respect to their community as well as themselves. Packaged with love and marked with a thumb print by the courageous and inspirational women that make them.

Created to help women worldwide gain economic security for themselves and their families by earning fair wages for their handiwork, Global Girlfriend sources women-made, fair-trade imported, eco-friendly products. By supporting long-term partnerships with the artisans, it fosters equal employment opportunities, healthy and safe working conditions, technical assistance, and development strategies to help reduce poverty, one community at a time. Become a "Global Girlfriend" and help build a brighter future for girlfriends around the globe!

Recent reviews:

September 5, 2014 -
I got the cinnamon soap, and it is lovely. Does a good job, and smells lovely.

December 30, 2013 -
Smells great and very interesting package. I gave as gifts to the young men in my family (with my usual monetary gift, too.)

August 11, 2013 -
This is a wonderful soap for a wonderful cause! I got the Chai Masala for myself, and the Ginger Neem and Lemon Ritha to give as gifts. I could not be happier with these soaps. My skin feels clean and lightly scented, not too heavy, not too light. The bar lasts a long time, some soaps I have used dissolve much faster. I will definitely be purchasing more of these in the future, more Chai Masala, and I want to try the Coconut Lavendar!

May 9, 2013 -
Lovely soaps and it definitely feels good while lathering up to know that they are from such a good project. No more Lever Bros!

Artisan: Prokritee

"A women earning helps the entire family because the women invest their earnings in family. Then the family's betterment brings good impact on the entire community because of money circulation at different levels or circles."

Prokritee (meaning "nature" in Bangla) is an agency that is dedicated to empowering disadvantaged women who have little or no other opportunities. Most of the women employed by Prokritee are the heads of their households because they have been widowed, divorced, or separated, they have little or no income, are landless with few or no assets, and are primarily rural. Prokritee is a service-based agency that provides artisan organizations with management, product design and development, and marketing assistance. By providing jobs and skills for the women they are able to improve the women's standard of living and help them send their children to school. The women are paid a fair wage, offered training on quality awareness, health, savings, and gender equality, and are provided with a medical allowance and assistance, maternity leave, incomes bonuses, and loan options.

Artisan Minoti Mondal

A cheerful woman who enjoys her work, Minoti has been working for Bagdha, one of Prokritee's artisan groups, for twenty years now. Before Minoti was twenty years old she married a poor farmer. Life was a struggle and after having two sons and two daughters, her husband's income was just not enough. She started looking for work and found a handicraft project that was hiring poor and widowed women. She now works primarily with wood, carving wooden toys. The income she has earned has helped her family immensely. Her four children have been able to finish secondary school, and her 23 year old son has gone on to become a businessman. She is happy she was able to help her children further their education, and hopes to work for Bagdha for as long as she can.

Artisan Usha Rani

Today Usha is a very skilled weaver for Hajiganj Handicrafts, one of Prokritee's artisan groups, but it wasn't always that way. When Hajigani was first started, Usha and the other women hired didn't know anything about weaving and had to be trained. The training lasted a couple of months, and by the end the women were able to weave baskets of all different shapes and sizes. Because Usha is highly skilled, she has been promoted to supervisor. She supervises the other producers to makes sure they are weaving quality baskets, and creates samples for customers.